Ice and snow cause chaos on our roads

BRITAIN will be battered by a “lethal cocktail” of snow, ice and freezing rain which threatens to cause chaos for days, forecasters said last night.

A wrecked car lies on the grass verge of the A69 in Northumberland after crashing []

They predicted that up to eight inches of snow would fall in many areas overnight and today as temperatures dropped below -10C (14F).

Black ice on the roads could cause misery for families trying to get away for the half-term break before another Arctic blast hits Britain next week.

The chilliest February in decades has already seen the UK shiver in temperatures colder than in Scandinavia.

Weather Channel meteorologist Leon Brown said last night: “The lethal cocktail of freezing rain followed by snow may bring chaos to roads in central Britain. Freezing rain will become a major hazard on roads in northern England and Wales.”

We have got quite a complicated weather picture because we have rain moving into very cold air

Spokesman Dan Williams

Mr Brown said the rain will render grit nearly useless. He added. “The salt becomes quickly diluted and washed away and then roads become a sheet of ice.”

The Met Office yesterday had severe weather warnings in place for ice across much of the South.

Spokesman Dan Williams added: “We have got quite a complicated weather picture because we have rain moving into very cold air.

“This battleground scenario between the cold eastern air and the milder air from the Atlantic makes it really difficult to predict just how much snow there will be and where it will fall.”

Frozen roads and black ice are thought to have caused almost 100 accidents in Cumbria yesterday.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council urged people to avoid driving “unless absolutely necessary”.

In Gateshead, Tyneside, six vehicles collided in freezing conditions on the Felling bypass.

Northumbria Police warned drivers across the North-east of “very icy conditions” and urged them to go slowly even on roads which had been gritted.

The weather will also threaten sporting fixtures this weekend including Saturday’s crunch Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford.

National Grid data showed electricity demand soared to near record levels on Wednesday as millions of people turned up their heating and longer-range forecasters said the big freeze could last until the first week in March.

Although temperatures could rise close to normal at the weekend for the time of year they are likely to fall again next week.

A spokeswoman for Netweather said: “The wintry weather is set to continue for a while yet. During the weekend a belt of rain will spread southwards across the country introducing slightly milder air, but there is again a significant chance of much of it turning to snow as it approaches south-east England.”